Todd Bertuzzi participated in a full practice this afternoon for the first time since he was sidelined with dizziness and swelling in his ear six games ago. Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock said that Bertuzzi’s status will be determined before tomorrow’s game, but the big forward is cautiously optimistic.

“I didn’t come all the way here without thinking there was a chance (he could play),” Bertuzzi told Ansar Khan at mlive.com. “I’ve had three pretty good days in. Got to see how I feel after my workout and see how I feel in the morning.”

The Wings have been a mixed bag since Bertuzzi was sidelined six games ago. The initial returns were good when the Wings rattled off four wins in the first four games without the polarizing forward. But since then, they’ve lost two straight and looked awful in San Jose on Thursday night. Bertuzzi hopes he can get into the lineup and help turn things around at Staples Center on Saturday afternoon against the Kings.

Detroit could use a boost since they have hit an offensive lull as of late. They’ve scored two or fewer goals in their last three games and have looked like a different team since they exploded for five goals against the Avalanche and Ducks two weeks ago.